ALMANAC C.qxd:ALMANAC C
3/2/09
3:10 PM
Head South, Young Man! OUTH OF THE CAUSEWAY, THAT IS. APRIL IS when we take the opposite heading and begin the migration under the Causeway Bridge down the SabineNeches waterway. Sure the fish are beginning to show up at the jetties, but don’t get in too big of a hurry. Starting at the new LNG plant and on down to Lighthouse Cove is some of the best fish-holding bottom on the entire Texas Coast. A perfect mixture of mud, sand, shell, and riprap offers baitfishes plenty of protection, and the trout, reds, and flounder are abundant. Knowing that deep water is nearby, the trout and reds move onto the shallow, warmer shoreline and stuff themselves full of mullet, shad, shrimp, and crab. We usually try to keep the boat in about 7 feet of water
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and fan-cast parallel with and toward the bank. It’s hard for me not to start with a SkitterWalk or She Dog because the topwater bite can be unreal. We have been catching really nice boxes of trout and reds on tops lately, but have been doing just as well bouncing a 4-inch Old Bayside Shadlyn on the bottom. Rigged with a 1/4- or 1/8-ounce leadhead, depending on the current and wind, it is very tough for the trout, reds, and flounder to resist. The best color for topwaters has been Bone, and black with a chartreuse head. Closing Night has been the most productive with the Shadlyn. Another proven technique is to rig a Shadlyn under a loud popping cork. An Old Bayside Paradise Popper works really well. It’s very cast-friendly and is a real attention getter. Rig it with 18-24 inches of leader and give it a couple of pops. This works really well with children and less experienced anglers because the bottom can be kind of tricky at times. But don’t get me wrong; it’s not just for inexperienced fisher-
THE BANK BITE LOCATION: Concrete steps on Pleasure Island SPECIES: flounder, redfish, black drum, croaker BAITS: live mud minnows, fresh dead shrimp men. All I have to do is open my rod box and I have one ready to go. We catch too many fish this way to not have one rigged and ready. Dragging a Shadlyn or curl-tail grub on the bottom catches most of our flounder. We catch them as deep as 10 feet, but the most consistent bite is usually from the bank to about 3 feet deep. Live finger mullet and mud minnows are also very effective when targeting these tasty flatfish. Keep an eye out for very nervous pods of small shad exploding right on the bank. When you see it, cast on top of them. Watch closely and you might see a flounder come completely out of the water with them. Talk about a confidence booster! We work this area hard as we continue south toward Lighthouse Cove and beyond. We continue down the channel, hitting various points on both sides. The channel bite kicks in around April and lasts well into the late summer months. The really good thing about it is we can start here early with tops on our way to the jetties or short rigs. We just make a drift or two to see if anything is happening. A lot of times, our original plan is put on hold. The fish are still doing their thing in Sabine Lake right now, but if you can make it here this month, don’t be scared to take the opposite heading and begin the migration south under the Causeway Bridge.
Contact: Eddie Hernandez, ehernandez@fishgame.com
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